What the Dead Leave Behind by Rosemary Simpson

When her father marries again, she's not really surprised.  He's still young enough to want a woman in his life.  But why did he pick the one he did?

Kensington Books and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published April 25th.

Prudence has her wedding coming up and is looking forward to being married.  She might not love him but he is her friend and has been since childhood.  When a blizzard shows up and he dies in the storm, she's stunned.  Her father died earlier.  The doctor says it was heart failure.  She's suspects her new stepmother may have helped that long.  After all, she's been doctoring Prudence with laudanum.  What did she use on her father?

This story moves along slowly and gave me more detail than I needed.  When she finds that her future husband died with a card in his hand it means nothing to her.  But it means a lot to his best friend.  It means it was no accident.  Together, they work on the case.  Prudence learned a lot from her father and Geoffrey used to be a Pinkerton agent.  They are making progress but Prudence is finding things out about her father that she wishes she didn't know.  He was bought off on a few cases because he needed the money to care for her mother whom he loved deeply.  He quit after her death.

Prudence has to sneak around to look for evidence.  Doors are locked and she has to find hidden keys.  The Judge has left her clues hidden in secret places.  All the old help has been let go and anyone who helps her gets hurt or dies.  Prudence is in danger but she refuses to give up.

I found it fitting that those who flaunted the law and didn't abide by it were killed by men following the same rules.  Things were covered too well to prove murder but murder was done.  And now the murderers have paid...